Self-Portrait Icon
2006, 2007, 2016
The body of work, Self-Portrait Icon, extends from an internal investigation of the childhood role models, popular icons and cultural stereotypes that influenced the artist’s perceptions of racial and masculine identity. By creating and manipulating hyper-masculine iconography, he conveys the difficulty a child of complex race encounters when trying to locate himself within American culture, during his own development of masculinity.
My intent is to confront my history with these icons and reframe their imagery, offering a personal perspective on the exploitation of this iconography; and the media as a powerful and deceptive mechanism of racial representation.”
The body of work, Self-Portrait Icon, extends from an internal investigation of the childhood role models, popular icons and cultural stereotypes that influenced the artist’s perceptions of racial and masculine identity. By creating and manipulating hyper-masculine iconography, he conveys the difficulty a child of complex race encounters when trying to locate himself within American culture, during his own development of masculinity.
My intent is to confront my history with these icons and reframe their imagery, offering a personal perspective on the exploitation of this iconography; and the media as a powerful and deceptive mechanism of racial representation.”